REQUEST: Ralph Towner recording recommendations

[Phil Bearce]

It's nice to see someone else is interested in Towner. I have been a fan for
quite a while. As a guitarist myself, I'm facinated by his style. My absolute
favorite piece is called "Blue Sun". There is an album by that name, but you
can also find it on an album called "Works". I don't have any transcriptions
as he is a little above my level of competence. Oh, well, it's good to have
goals.

Phil Bearce - hpocia.hp.com
[a witty tag line here]

[Jim Sheppard]

gan...@mdivax1.HP.COM writes:
> ... I have since looked into his recording catalogue, and have been
> overwhelmed with the number of recordings [by Ralph Towner]. Where do I
> start? I bought "Solstice" on a friend's recommendation, and like it very
> much. What are his other highlights? I am particularly interested in his
> guitar work.

There is indeed much Towner to be had; one of my favorite guitarists (multi-
instrumentalist really). He has 8 albums out under his own name, is featured
on every Oregon album of which there are 16 or 17, two duet albums with Gary
Burton, one or two duet albums with John Abercrombie, an album with Glen
Moore (& the rest of Oregon too), he's with the Paul Winter consort on at
least 2 albums, he's on Weather Report's _I Sing the Body Electric_ and God
knows what else. On all of these he plays his acoustic guitar. For now I'll
focus on the albums under his own name in approximate release order. All are
on the ECM label and all are available on CD unless noted otherwise. Dates
are recording dates.

Ralph Towner - Diary 1973; solo; gtrs, piano, gongs
Ralph Towner - Solstice 1974; quartet; gtrs, piano, saxes,
flute, bass, cello, drums
Ralph Towner - Sound and Shadows 1977; Solstice quartet
Ralph Towner - Batik (not on CD) 1978; trio; gtrs, bass, drums
Ralph Towner - Old Friends, New Friends 1979; quintet; gtrs, piano, F-horn,
trmpt, bass, cello, drums
Ralph Towner - Solo Concert 1979; solo; gtrs
Ralph Towner - Blue Sun 1982; solo; gtrs, piano, synth, F-
horn, cornet, perc.
Ralph Towner - City of Eyes 1989; quintet; gtrs, piano, synth,
trmpt, oboe, E-horn, bass,
drums, etc.
and also

Ralph Towner & Glen Moore - Trios/Solos 1972; gtr, piano, oboe, bass, tabla
Ralph Towner & Gary Burton - Matchbook 1974; gtrs and vibes
John Abercrombie & Ralph Towner - Sargasso Sea 1976; e. & a. gtrs, piano
Ralph Towner & Gary Burton - Slide Show 1985; gtrs, vibes, marimba

What would I recommend? It's been awhile since I've heard some of these but
I remember liking _Solstice_, _Batik_, _Old Friends, New Friends_ and _Blue
Sun_ a lot but all are good. If you want lots of acoustic guitar, start with
_Solo Concert_ and then try _Diary_. The duet albums would good choices too.
Start with _Matchbook_ before _Slide Show_ and _Trios/Solos_ has 4 solo
Towner pieces.

But then I like most of the Oregon albums even better than most of the albums
above but that's another story.

> Alden B. Gannon INTERNET: gan...@MDI.COM
> gan...@ERG.SRI.COM
> USENET: ..uunet!mdisea!gannon

I hope this helps.

Jim Sheppard (ji...@hpfcmgw.FC.HP.com)
The Hewlett-Packard Company
Fort Collins, Colorado USA